Talent Show
Sixty-two participants competed in the perennial favorite fair talent show on Friday evening in a crowded 4-H Center. The estimated crowd of 550 attendees saw a variety of talents exhibited by the local youth! The heat and humidity indexes did not deter the crowd or the performers!
When the decision of the judges was made final, six acts emerged as the winners!
Tweet Things, a group of six little girls performed a tap dance to "Rockin Robin/Rock Around the Clock" and won the first place honors in the Junior Division. All the participants were 8 or 9 years old and new this summer to the competition circuit. Members of the group included Karly LaTurner, Hope Longest, Taylor Schippert, Madisyn Shambrook, Kadyn Stevens, and Courtney Thompson. The girls hail from Watseka, Milford, and Danforth.
Second place in the Junior Division went to Kassidy Berry, the eleven year old daughter of Jeff and Kelly Berry of Watseka. Accompanied on the electric keyboard by her grandma, Pat Neal, Kassidy sang "If I Only Had a Brain." Poised in front of a picket fence, Kassidy played her trumpet during an interlude, and then finished with her vocal performance.
Sarah Lamping, the nine-year old daughter of Bill and Lori Lamping, claimed the third place position in the Junior Division. Sarah sang the song, "Shake Me I Rattle, as she clutched a porcelain doll and rocked in a child's rocking chair.
In the Senior Division, a group of first cousins from three families captured the first place honors and the audience with their vocal rendition of "Elvira." Clad in black dress slacks, black shirts and gold-colored ties, the male vocal quintet of Andrew Lesch, Adam Weber, Jamison Weber, Jeremy Weber, and Michael Weber resulted in a wide-spread audience toe tapping and clapping performance! Andrew Lesch hails from Chebanse, and the other Weber cousins all reside in Ashkum.
Second place honors in the Senior Division went to a tap dance group called, Yes We Can-Can. Members of the group included Alison Hall, Kaity Johnson, Laci Kissack, Lindsey Lambert, Heather Orland, and Jessica Stone all of Watseka.
A three piece band, The Vinegaroons, from the Danforth and Gilman area performed a song, "Sappy," and won third place in the Senior Division. Members of the band featured Jake McCurry and Ian MacDonald as guitarists and soloists, and Alex Hill as drummer.
Prize money, donated by the Iroquois County Fair Association for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each division was $100, $50, and $25 respectively. Each winning entry also received an engraved acrylic picture frame trophy donated by Meier Brothers Tire Service of Ashkum, Dennis and Darwin Meier. In addition, the Iroquois County Fair Association paid the $75 entry fee for the first place junior and senior division winners to compete at the state competition, as well as a $75 expense stipend for the state competition. The first place winners in both divisions will advance to the Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs State Talent Contest on January 15, 2011, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. All participants in the talent show received a participation ribbon, compliments of the Iroquois County Fair Association.
In between the Junior and Senior Division competitions, the audience was entertained by two guest performers. Alexis Shoufler of Milford, the 2009 Iroquois County Fair Talent Show Junior Division Winner performed a tap dance to the song, "ABC." She was followed by Justice Janowski of Sheldon, the 2009 Ford County Fair Talent Show Senior Division Winner and the 2010 Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs State Talent Show Senior Division Winner. Justice performed a reprise of her state award winning selection, "Taylor the Latte Boy."
Following the Senior Division competition, Calley Seefeldt of Watseka, the 2009 Iroquois County Fair Talent Show Senior Division Winner performed a vocal solo, "Donde lieta."
Brad Senffner served as the Master of Ceremonies.
Patricia Edris of Milford, the 2010 Miss Iroquois County Fair Queen, presented the trophies to the winners and posed for pictures with the winning talent show contestants following the show.
Jody Munsterman, Talent Show director, spoke to the audience while the judges were tabulating the final results. She credited Jake Salm, a fair board representative on the talent show committee for over twenty years as being her mentor and keeping the committee grounded to the expectations of the fair board. Jake passed away in June. Mrs. Munsterman also introduced her colleagues on the talent show committee: Pam Hibbert of Clifton; Janice Anderson of Donovan; and newly appointed fair board representative, Jody Sanders of Buckley. The talent show committee brought on stage and showed the audience the four piece silver coffee service that was won at the state level by the Central Madrigals in January of 1973. The Central Madrigals, under the direction of Eunice Voigt, were the first winners of the first Iroquois County Fair Talent Contest held in 1972. Mrs. Munsterman also told the crowd that the Talent Show committee has begun making plans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Iroquois County Fair Talent Show in 2011, and to watch the fair website and local media sources for further details.